Executive attention is a function involved in the regulation of thoughts, emotions, responses, distractions, problem solving and switching between multiple pieces of information. It has the ability to control attention for ongoing cognitive processes such as decision-making, cognitive control, language processing, and social cognitive processes which get influenced through components of working memory.
Various executive attention skills emerge with the maturation of frontal brain structures as the executive attention is mainly located in the prefrontal cortex. Understanding early stages of development of a child can help in their academic and professional outcomes, socialization and psychological well-being. But at the same time, damage to the frontal lobes, can affect the role of executive attention in the control of thought, behaviour, and emotion.
This paper aims at providing a selective review of the existing literature about the development of executive attention, functions of attentional network and its role in learning, working memory and performance.
